


when tomorrow comes and we've shown everyone

by cinderlily



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, it's NOT A ROOMBA, puppehs, silly useless angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11487330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderlily/pseuds/cinderlily
Summary: After finding a video on Facebook, Tyler is on a mission. Jamie is on a mission of his own.Gerry really just wants to nap and nip at people's feet.





	when tomorrow comes and we've shown everyone

**Author's Note:**

> No.... seriously. I can not stop watching this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7hu67Bk5bA
> 
> PUPPEH.
> 
> (title from Dashboard Confessional. Yes I was a teen in the late 90's/early 00's, what?) 
> 
> Thank you LuciFern for the SPAG! <3

Not that he advertised it a lot, or basically _at all_ but Tyler did have a Facebook. Or, more accurately Wayne Estrella did, because he didn’t want anything to be run back to him in anyway. He had exactly 8 friends, his family and a few guys but that was it. He was not getting in Social Media trouble again. Not on his freaking life. 

When the post came up on his feed, from Cass of course, he couldn’t help but laugh his ass off. It was so perfect. It was beyond perfect. The small feet across the top the little robot cleaner. The look on his face. He knew had a short window, Gerry was getting bigger by the minute, so he went out and bought the best robot floor cleaner he could and let it charge. 

When he texted Jamie to come over, he wasn’t surprised to get a ‘Fuck off’ as a response. The last time he’d been there they’d gotten so off their skulls drunk that they both felt it for days to come. It was not pretty. But he texted he promised nothing more than beer would pass over their lips and that it would just be the two of them. 

Well. The five of them. He eyed his pups, all lazing on the seemingly shrinking couch, and smiled. This was going to be epic. 

Ten minutes later Jamie let himself into the door with his key and as soon as the door beeped all three of the dogs went nuts. They knew who it was just as much as Tyler did. He did have other friends, he wasn’t a hermit or anything, but Jamie was the only one with the key. 

“I think you’re their favorite parent,” Tyler mused and Jamie halted in his step. “Well, I barely get that greeting and I give them F-O-O-D.” 

Jamie eased a bit and tilted his head. “I give them T-R-E-A-T-S, they know where it’s at.” 

Cash was genuinely trying to jump into Jamie’s arms and if it was any other person Tyler would be yelling at him to get down but with Jamie it didn’t matter. He easily picked up the dog like he didn’t weigh eighty pounds and cradled him. Tyler hid his laugh as Jamie started to talk to him like he was his legitimate kid. He might have a video of it on his phone, but as he hadn’t even sent it to Jordie, he figured he wouldn’t admit to it. 

Depositing Cash onto the couch and scratching behind the ears of both Marshall and Gerry, Jamie looked around. “So what was so desperate for me to come over for? I might have been doing something important.”

“Is anything more important to you than me?” Tyler said, feigning genuine hurt. “You wound me, Chubbs.” 

“I thought we agreed that once Jordie was gone we were nixing that nickname,” Jamie said, putting his arms over each other. 

Tyler put a hand up. “My bad, J. Okay. You got to check this out.” 

He walked further into his kitchen and pointed to the large flat black machine seated in its charging dock. He was damn proud of himself, so his smile was wide, except Jamie was looking at him like he was broken. 

“You have a person come in twice a week to keep this house clean, and you bought a vacuum?” Jamie asked, tilting his head. 

“No,” Tyler rolled his eyes. “I mean, cleaning is nice but _no_. Hold on.”

He went back to the couch to find that Gerry was on the back of it, head still up and facing the kitchen to follow Jamie but not nearly as overly excited as he was a minute before. Generally a good thing if he wanted to get this to actually work and not be a total disaster. 

“Come on G,” he smiled. “We’re going to show Uncle Jamie how awesome this thing is.” 

Gerry licked at his face, which Tyler just assumed meant he was agreeing with him. He’d fiddled with the machine a little earlier, thankfully it was generally quiet as Cash was leery of things that made loud noises and Marshall was downright aggressive if Cash or Gerry seemed leery. 

He pressed the button for the machine to come out and it did, slowly. It stopped just outside the dock and Tyler put Gerry on top. He fit _perfectly_. He pressed another button and the thing moved a quarter of an inch. Gerry, for his part, looked directly up at Tyler and with a face of great disapproval jumped off. 

“No, no,” Tyler said. “You got to… Come on, G.” 

He paused the vacuum and looked at Gerry who, in true puppy fashion, wasn’t looking at him and was kind of looking like he might pee on him. It had happened twice. He shifted him so that it wouldn’t hit his shirt.

“Just a minute,” he said, softly. “Like the video I showed you, remember?” 

Gerry didn’t seem pleased, but Tyler put him on top of it again and pressed the start button. This time Gerry made it maybe ten seconds, just to the point where Tyler was going to raise his hands in victory before he put his back legs out and kind of moon walked off of it. 

“ _Come on_ ,” Tyler said and he was fully aware of the fact that he sounded like he was whining. 

From behind him he heard a little snicker and he turned to see that Jamie was bright red from hidden laughter, holding his phone. “Keep going, this is gold.” 

Tyler glared. “Shut up, it worked in the video.” 

“WHAT video?” 

Tyler took his phone out of his pocket and picked up Facebook where he had it as a saved video, for reasons. He showed the video off to Jamie who stared on, laughed but didn’t seem _nearly_ as impressed as he should be. 

“Gerry is a lab, he is smart,” Tyler pointed out. “He should be getting this.” 

“He’s smart enough to know he’s not got anything to do with that,” Jamie said and bent down to pick up Gerry who was looking quite grumpy at Tyler’s feet. “Right? Tell Daddy you aren’t a circus pet.” 

Tyler huffed. “I’m not making him a circus pet! He literally just has to stay on there!” 

“Meanest daddy of them all,” Jamie said, scratching behind Gerry’s ears and showing the dog’s smile towards him. “See, he know’s what’s up.” 

“So I’m the mean dad and you’re the cool dad? That is so not the way this goes,” Tyler rolled his eyes. “If anything, I’M the cool dad who let’s them do the awesome stuff and YOU are the dad who makes them learn stuff and like buckle down and get stuff done.” 

Jamie’s half smile turned into a bark of a laugh. “You realize you are talking about a dog, right? I don’t think Cash has buckled down in his life, no offense Cash.” 

The other dog, who’d perked up at his name, could care less, he came charging at Jamie and playfully jumped up on Jamie, nipping at Gerry’s toes.

“Careful with your brother,” Jamie said, as he put Gerry down. 

“Are YOU sure you know you’re talking about dogs?” he retorted but it was really pretty not heated and kind of lame. 

He knew Jamie’s response before it came out of his mouth. “‘YOUR brain has the shell on it.’” 

Tyler narrowed his eyes. “‘Are you talking?’” 

“Dude, we should watch that,” Jamie said. “You know, rather than forcing your dog onto a Roomba.” 

“It’s not a Roomba, it’s like the top one on the market,” Tyler glowered, like that changed anything. He looked at the small vacuum, that was currently going back and forth against the wall assumedly trying to figure it’s way around the walls but looking like a waste of money. 

Jamie had picked Gerry up and was inches from Tyler with his dog’s face basically on his. “‘ _Riiiiichard…._ ’”

With a well timed lick from Gerry Tyler’s mood evaporated and he laughed. He clicked the little button on the side for it to return to it dock and walked back into the living room. It was never the wrong time to watch Tommy Boy. 

* 

Jamie spent more time than not at Tyler’s house, it was just their thing. Especially if they were both at home in the summer. But in the little blips of time he WASN’T home Tyler took time to try and teach Gerry to get on top of the vacuum. Why? He wasn’t entirely sure. It was funny? He was trying to prove a point?

Gerry, in turn, was becoming much more Jamie’s pet then his. It was like Cash 2.0, the dog was basically at Jamie’s feet the second he got there and in his arms so often that Tyler joked he was getting him a purse and taking pics to send to Toews. Jamie had stuck his tongue out and told him that he was just jealous. 

He kind of was. 

But whatever. 

They only really had a few weeks of summer left, and most of that was spent with a lot of exercise and as much relaxation as they could shove into the time allotted. It was easy to get in a rhythm of work out, play with the puppies, dinner, and Jamie chilling on his couch till he either fell asleep or stumbled the two blocks home. 

He was pretty sure that the amount of photos of Jamie curled up on his couch with the dogs all around him was bordering on stalking but whatever. It’s better than when he used to write stuff on Jamie’s face, right? 

And Gerry WAS making headway on the whole… staying on the vacuum thing. Like once he was on for a whole 15 seconds before he got off and barked at it for twice that length of time. Which was actually when Jamie walked in and looked at the dog and then him and started laughing like a hyena. 

Whatever. 

“Are you kidding me?” Jamie laughed. “No wonder the pup only wants me.” 

“I am not the mean dad!” Tyler stood his ground. He wasn’t. He was the cool dad. Teaching the dog to surf. 

Jamie had Gerry in his arms. “Yeah, yeah, that’s why he runs to his favorite when he can.” 

Tyler glowered. 

“Aww, they still love you,” Jamie laughed and brought Gerry over. Gerry, when close to Tyler’s face, was a licking machine. It must be the facial hair? He didn’t care. He nuzzled the dog and put his hand near the base of his neck, his favorite scratching spot. It meant he was half rubbing Jamie though. 

“Jamie will be the nice dad, but I’ll be the cool dad, right Gerry?” 

Jamie’s face turned a light shade of pink and he handed the dog over to Tyler. “Uh, beer?” 

He didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and went to the fridge, grabbing the beer and going around the island to grab the beer opener. He looked like his ears were going to burn off. 

“Everything okay, Jamie?” Tyler said, playing it cool but actually a touch worried. 

Jamie shrugged and took a deep breath. “Nothing, just hot out. And beer.” 

True that. 

He grabbed the beer and cradled Gerry with one arm. Pup was getting big, he was going to have to really push the vacuum thing if this was going to pan out at all. 

*

The thing was, he noticed, Jamie was getting weird about the whole touch thing. Like, they touched. Quite often. Mixture of a hockey thing and just a ‘Jamie and Tyler’ thing. But suddenly it had turned into a _Tyler_ only thing and that was a little weird. He’d go in for a totally normal head bop to Jamie’s shoulder and Jamie would let him but he wouldn’t like, nuzzle his head or pat at it. 

Which, made him sound like the dog, actually, but he wasn’t. He was just missing the touch from his best friend. Totally normal. 

He also might be kind of jealous of his own damn dogs as … they got all the cuddles in the world. Even Marshall seemed to be getting in on the action and he was never much for Jamie cuddles. He was used to being curled up alongside Tyler but he was suddenly all up in Jamie’s space. What the fuck?

He attributed it to the stifling heat in Texas but then again his house was almost the same temperature as the arctic when he was there for longer than a few days. He kept blankets on his couches to warm up his feet. Which Jamie would take and wrap around him. But not touch Tyler, who was generally only a few feet away and made of body heat. 

Add to that he was lowering his time at Tyler’s, just a little and Tyler was not entirely a pleased person. It was getting more and more frustrating.

Thankfully they shared a training space and as such he could schedule his time there within the same time Jamie was there. Which meant they would go get food afterward as Jamie might be avoiding him but he couldn’t avoid him if he was right there. After food there was time for movies, movies were a thing that he had at his house because doesn’t Jamie want to see the dogs? 

Tyler wasn’t above bribery using his sweet dogs. He knew they were the best. Even when they got the cuddles he wanted. 

He worked hard with the free time and suddenly Gerry loved the stupid vacuum which was where this all seemed to stem from. 

He texted a pic of Gerry chilling on the vacuum in the background and his shit eating grin in the foreground. “ _COME OVER, OUR KID IS DOING SOMETHING AWESOME. - Coolest Dad EVER_ ” 

He didn’t get a response but he DID see that Jamie saw it, the little check mark at the bottom of his phone so he waited for the door to open. Instead, a couple minutes later there was a _knock_ at the damn door. He would usually avoid answering it for the fact that sometimes kids asked him to play shibby and like, generally yes but right now? No. 

The knock was persistent and way too tall for it to be Kai from three doors down. 

When he opened it he wasn’t shocked, per se, to find Jamie behind the door. The dogs were going crazy at his feet. Tyler was mostly just staring blankly. 

“Did you forget your keys?” 

He knew that wasn’t possible as he spotted Jamie’s car in his driveway. (Lazy bum.) 

“Nah, just…”

Something bubbled up in his chest and without a second thought his mouth opened. “Are you like friend dumping me?” 

Okay. 

Not the most grown up way of asking what the hell was going on. Actually, it seemed the exact opposite to grown up. He felt distinctly like he was standing in the doorway of his English class grade 4 and hearing Nick Logan say they couldn’t be friends anymore because Tyler thought about hockey too much. Like _that_ was even a possibility. 

Jamie stood there, cheeks red, face blank. He had the open stare thing down well, though Tyler always knew that. He watched the scrums, and the dude was a capable adult but sometimes he looked like the freaking Scarecrow looking for his brain. 

“What?” Jamie squeaked out a minute later, seemingly halfway because the awkwardness was almost at it’s peak. The dogs had even scattered, somehow sensing that they did not want to be in that room at that moment. 

Tyler folded his arms and double downed. “You’ve been acting weird for like two solid weeks, dude. Not touching. Avoiding me. Loving on the dogs and then like … leaving early for sketchy reasons. You left during Goon, fucker. Come on. 

“Did I do something? Cause I haven’t even gone to a bar since I got home. I’ve been either with you, the pups, or Hector the Pain Enforcer for the better part of the summer.” 

“Tyler,” Jamie said, slowly like he was trying to fit in more time to focus on his words. “It’s not…” 

Tyler frowned. “I swear to fuck, Benn. You finish that with ‘you, it’s me’ I’m going to straight up punch you in the dick. Not a gentle tap, a _punch_.” 

“I’m not friend breaking up with you?” Jamie tilted his head. “I don’t even think that’s a thing. I was just.. I mean. I’m sorry? Maybe I’ve been distracted.” 

A little annoyed tick crept up in his mind. “Are you dating someone? Cause like, you can keep that from everyone _but_ me.” 

“NO,” Jamie said, too loudly, echoing in the large foyer. 

“Then WHAT THE HELL, man?” 

Jamie shifted uncomfortably. “You’ve been home for three weeks and like. Usually you get antsy around this time. Like. This is past prime Seguin needs to get laid time. I thought you might need me out of the way. So I’ve been making… room?” 

Tyler thought about it for a long moment. He took a step back. He wasn’t going to lie and say that he hadn’t thought about it idly for the last few weeks. Getting laid was nice. Very nice. But he wasn’t antsy about it at all. He’s been hanging with Jamie and the dogs. Drinking beer and not giving a fuck about clubbing or any of that shit. 

“Plus, you’ve been super touchy feely,” Jamie added. “I didn’t think you’d want to realize I was a substitute or something.” 

“You’re not a substitute,” Tyler frowned and looked at him. What the fuck did Jamie think? He was using him as a fake boyfriend or something. “You’re Jamie.” 

“You say that like it doesn’t sound like I’m a stand-in. You call the dogs ‘our kids’. Brownie said you got this way when you were… you know. Fuck. You called him your husband.” 

Tyler was really not following this conversation. Yes, he called Brownie his husband. That was their thing. But not because he was using Brownie as a significant other substitute. He and Brownie had been he and Brownie. Sometimes they had been more than touching, but Brownie usually got a girl and you know. That was cool. Tyler could get a girl. 

“How did we get to Brownie?” 

“And you call Marchy Marshall’s dad.” 

Well, yeah. Marchy had showed Tyler how to take care of puppy Marshall. So other dad status. 

“You jealous of being the step dad?” Tyler said, which should have come out as a joke but didn’t. 

Jamie tensed. “Stop it, Tyler.” 

“What the hell? We’ve done this for three summers, if I’ve wanted to get some… I do,” Tyler offered. “Why freak out about it this summer?” 

“Cause the previous summers you’ve DONE it and I’ve not THOUGHT about it…” 

This was official nonsense. Not that he was saying anything because Jamie was looking pissed off and that was surely a recipe for crazy. Internally he had at least a few ideas of how he could start a pretty good rant about friendships and boundaries but it would be useless. They weren’t a friendship of boundaries. 

“You want me to get laid? Is that the big deal?” 

“You’ve spent three weeks trying to your puppy onto a ROOMBA, Tyler. You need SOMETHING.” 

“IT’S NOT A FREAKING ROOMBA, JAMIE,” he yelled. A second later Jamie laughed, and Tyler couldn’t help but follow. It let the awkward out of the room enough that Tyler could feel the muscles in his jaw disengage. “… Well it isn’t.” 

Jamie, still half smiling, shrugged. “I get that. I just… I don’t know. I keep preparing for the shutdown.” 

“Shutdown?”

“Where you like… go… and do stuff. Which is totally cool. I just you know. Don’t want to be the third in a weird you dating thing.”

Tyler shrugged. “You know, it’s not the worst. Just never married couples, that is messed the fuck up.” 

“I meant third wheeling,” Jamie’s eyes went wide. “ **A married couple**?”

He looked away. “Um, no?” 

Jamie went pink. Tyler was probably about the same shade, if not darker. So, that was a one time thing that Jamie didn’t need to know about. 

“Can we go back to fighting about what type of rideable vacuum cleaner I have?” Tyler asked. “OH! Or I could show you the ride. Dude. It’s awesome. We have a chill youngest. I don’t think Marshall would have done this and sure as fuck Cash would have killed the machine first chance he got.” 

He had overridden any chance for Jamie to protest but just walking towards the kitchen and grabbing a sleeping Gerry off the back of the couch. Jamie had followed, looking somewhat relieved. He didn’t want to get back into his past. That was what it was, the past. He wasn’t entirely proud of some things but he’d learned that he’d made the decisions and they’d help him grow. So, there was that. 

Gerry looked at the vacuum and then back at him and there was a distinct moment where Tyler was sure he wasn’t going to do it again and that he would feel like an idiot but then he put him down and Gerry went and laid on the machine. He hit the button and it started going and it was perfect. 

He’d basically taken the little furniture in his breakfast nook and put it up on the table so it went around in a perfect circle. He felt a surge or ridiculous pride. He turned to Jamie who looked more amused than proud but what the hell ever. He’d taught his dog to get on top of a freaking vacuum and let it go around the room in circles. His dog was chill as fuck and he was going to celebrate. 

“Told you he’d do it,” Tyler said. “Who’s the cool dad now?” 

“You are?” Jamie offered. 

Tyler made a put upon noise and went back to looking at Gerry who looked like he was actually asleep again. “Pscha. I am the coolest dad on earth. Our kids will be lucky to have a parent like _me_.” 

“Tyler.” 

“Hmm?” he said, his phone in his hand, taking a video of Gerry and a few photos. 

Jamie cleared his throat so Tyler turned around. “You’ve got to stop that.” 

“What? He’s cute, this shit is going on Instagram.” 

Jamie frowned. “The talking about our kids. It’s wrong.” 

Tyler bristled a little bit. Okay, maybe talking about theoretical kids was a bit odd but wrong? “You saying you wouldn’t want kids with me?” 

“That isn’t what I’m saying Tyler…” Jamie trailed off, closed his eyes and took a deep deep breath. “It’s wrong for you to talk about things that aren’t happening. Right? That’s what I said about me being like… some stand in. You need to get laid.” 

“What if I don’t WANT to get laid?” Tyler snapped, causing Gerry to jump up and off the cleaner, running towards him. “What if I’m not looking for some chick or dude to just play around with? Huh? So what’s the big deal if I want a family. It’s not wrong.” 

Jamie scoffed. “You aren’t listening, dude. Like, you can want a family and that’s cool. But you keep talking like it’s _us_ having a family and like. That’s not cool to say.” 

“What cause it’s gay?” 

Tyler had never shied away from the fact that he was bisexual, especially with the trusted friends he had. The fact that Jamie was uncomfortable about it made him want to punch a freaking wall. Cause fuck that, Jamie Benn. No calling no homo, they’d totally snuggled a few times and it wasn’t weird. It was _them_. 

Which… when the silence started to stretch between them suddenly started to make a little more sense. Slowly the penny dropped and he was suddenly standing there, a wiggly puppy in his arms, looking at Jamie with a gaping mouth. Jamie had his jaw clenched tightly, not looking at Tyler. 

Jamie didn’t want him to stop because he _didn’t_ like the idea. He wasn’t grossed out by it. He … might actually want it. That took a minute for Tyler to wrap his brain around. Followed by a minute for his heart to slowly return to it’s regular spot right in his throat. Jamie was shifting and… did he… did he HONESTLY think Tyler was just using him as a not boyfriend? Cause like. Fuck that. 

“So, fuck you, _A_ ,” Tyler said, casually. “For not telling me you liked dudes. Cause like I spent the first year all but courting you formally and you said not a freaking word. And B… you think I’m using you as some kind of time waster? Cause, if so … double fuck you. I mean. I used the _other people_ as Jamie fillers. Cause you made it pretty clear with your last girlfriend who I was in the order of Jamie priorities.” 

Jamie rolled his eyes. “Let’s just let other relationships go, Tyler. I’ve had two, do you know how many relationships with… no. Fuck it. Back to the main point.” 

Tyler caught Gerry and put him under his arm, scrubbing at the bottom of the dogs chin. “What the hell is that, Benn?”

“You. Need. To. Stop. With. The. Good dad bad dad thing.” Jamie said, words so weighted and measured that it was like Captain voice all over again. 

Tyler furrowed his brow. “Why. not?” 

“Because maybe I want that and it’s messing with my fucking brain, Seguin,” Jamie finally snapped. 

“Language,” Tyler said, covering Gerry’s ears just as the full sentence came together in his head. “Wait, what the _fuck_?” 

His brain was kind of racing and the fact that he had a squirrelly pup in his hands was not entirely helpful. He gently put the dog on the ground, who was rather put out but that was a matter for a different time. He was staring at Jamie, dead on, and Jamie was matching him even though he looked like he would rather be looking pretty much anywhere on the planet. 

“Messing with you head?” Tyler repeated. “What …”

“You know what I mean, Tyler,” he said, voice quiet and a bit lower than Tyler was used to. 

Tyler’s brain wasn’t processing at full speed. Were this any other moment he might make a crack about smoke coming out of his ears but that didn’t seem like the appropriate time. Jamie’s brows were up, like he was shocked he just said what he did and Tyler felt like Jamie had just punched him in the gut. He was… Not sure what the hell was going on. 

“You want to…” He shook his head. “You like me?” 

Jamie groaned and put a hand to his face. “This isn’t fifth grade, fucker.” 

“Shut up, I’m like… taking this shit in,” Tyler said, rubbing at his cheeks. “You want **me**. Like _want_ not just as your friend. Or your buddy. Just. **WANT**.” 

Jamie gritted his teeth. “Yes, that would be the way I want you. Like, dating and having sex and … _sleep sleeping_ next to each other.” 

“You’re officially bi?” 

“YOU’RE BI.” 

“Yeah, but I told you that within a month of knowing you, jackass,” he wiped at his beard. “I told you that even though I was freaking petrified and sure you were going to not want to be friends with me. All YOU had to do would be say, ‘Oh really? Funny story, me too.’” 

Jamie huffed it was like Tyler was the one who was in the wrong here. “Maybe we all don’t figure out our shit when we’re twelve, Tyler.” 

There was a long pause, long enough for him to look Jamie all the way up and down and calculate when in the last few years things had ever seemed weird. There was a summer after they’d gotten to the postseason, but everyone was weird after fall out. There was the time they got in a fight over Jamie’s house being too near. (For the record, Tyler had started that as a joke.) There was also a time where Jamie and Jordie went on a sporadic vacation _without him_ during their week off and Tyler had been bummed as hell but whatever. Brothers. 

“How long?” Tyler croaked out. 

Jamie looked at him and shook his head. “We aren’t playing this game.” 

“Jamie, please?” 

He knew he had a few looks that could get Jamie to crumble but he didn’t bust them out, even if it would be easier. Rather he just looked at Jamie, open and honest and hopeful. Jamie rubbed at his face. He wasn’t sure what the hell He could hazard doing. Would getting closer help or hurt? He was desperate to do _something_. 

“Two years,” Jamie exhaled. “You were out with an injury. I was stuck on the road. You weren’t answering your phone and I called my brother instead. Let’s just say that Gin and Tonic’s make me honest. A little too honest, actually… and then it was out there. I said it.” 

Tyler rubbed the back of his neck and resisted yelling, just barely. “Two years. You’ve had a thing for me for _two years_?” 

“Give or take,” Jamie offered. “Look, I’m just asking for us to avoid the joint dad thing, I’m not expecting… anything. And I’m really hoping you don’t kick me out as that would truly suck. But you know. Whatever makes this easiest on you.” 

Tyler thought back two years. Two years had meant two seasons into him being a Star. He wasn’t … yeah. He’d already been half in love with Jamie for two years at that point. But would he have been ready? Probably not. Would either of them? Probably not. Maybe Jamie. Jamie was pretty responsible in the relationship department. But he would have fucked it up somehow. Tyler was good at fucking things up. 

“So, I think I should leave,” Jamie said, his voice just a little bit wobbly. 

Oh fuck, thinking had given Jamie ample time to jump to the wrong conclusions. He was sure that he should say something profound. Tell him he’d been in love with him since well before that injury. Since before he really was a Star. Stupid All-Star weekend when he met the goofy looking kid from the Stars, who honked and laughed at all his jokes and made him feel like he wasn’t a useless newbie. 

Nothing came to mind. So kissing was a good idea. 

He moved fast, cause Jamie could book it when he wanted to, and pulled him into a kiss by his shirt, digging his hands into him. He kissed him like his life depended on it, tongue nudging at Jamie’s lips till he got with the damn program and instead of stiffly standing there relaxed into Tyler’s mouth. He thought he would cheer but that might actually distract the whole thing. 

Four freaking years, which Jamie would hear about at a later date. But yeah, any pining Jamie could do, Tyler did better. Longer. _Harder_. He’d _mastered_ pining from afar. He’d even gotten to the point of being able to hide it from almost everyone. Eakins had guessed it once, when they were drunk, but seemingly forgotten it the next day. 

He tasted Jamie’s mouth when they finally parted, tongue slipping in and enjoying every moment. Man. He’d given up. He’d more than given up. He’d moved on, or at very least tried to. When Jamie got a girl, well, he made himself smile and be happy and invite her over when he really just wanted to hang out with Jamie. He’d done his job. But he could have been doing this. 

Jamie let out a low moan, one that could probably be pleasure but MIGHT be less than that so he yanked himself back. Jamie looked… dazed was the easiest way to put it. His lips still parted and Tyler wanted to take that as an invite but he was just… uneasy about one thing. 

“You get I’m not just doing this for fun, right?” he blurted out and Jamie’s lips closed fast. Fuck, way to ruin a good moment, Seguin. He closed his eyes and exhaled. “I mean, it’s for _fun_ , but because it’s _with you_. And I like that. I like that it’s with you. I WANTED it to be with you. But you… were straight.” 

He watched as Jamie’s back straightened. “But you were clear with your ‘rules’.” 

“YOU WERE _CLEAR_ WITH YOUR SEXUALITY,” he said, pointing a finger at him. “So maybe let’s not get into clarity, Jamie.” 

There was a moment where they just stood there, inches from each other’s faces and then Jamie leaned in to give him seemingly a peck. Muscles relaxed and Tyler was all for solving this problem with kissing. He was down with kisses. He put up Jamie’s back and scratched lightly. This time he just appreciated the moan he got. 

* 

They made it as far as the couch. Blessedly that was the space in his house no one could see. No lenses could find his ass pumped in the air or Jamie riding him like the fake cowboy he was. Instead he got to enjoy the entire view by himself. Not that he was truly worried about cameras, he wasn’t _famous_ famous, but the Captain and a player on a NHL team fucking might be a big old story somehow. And paparazzi could smell blood in the water, the damn sharks. 

Thankfully, he had two blankets nearby, one for clean up and the other pulled up over the both of them. He put his head on to Jamie’s neck and kissed his shoulder and then the crook. He couldn’t stop smiling. 

“Four years, Benn,” he said, with just a note of exasperation. “Foooour years. Longer if you count the whole crush after the All Star Game.” 

Jamie gawked. “You had a crush on me at the All Star Game?” 

“That ugly facial hair and your hair all mussed up? Who could resist?” he smiled, and kissed him on the jawline. “I was hooked.” 

“We talked for all of eight minutes,” Jamie pointed out. Which had been true. Except he had listened in on a lot of Jamie’s conversations, third wheeling it like a creeper. He wasn’t going to tell JAMIE that though, maybe save that for a long term thing. It’d be cute sometime, right? 

He slipped a hand on Jamie’s stomach. “I got laid and still want to just hang with you. Do you believe me now?” 

“Just hang out?” Jamie asked, one eyebrow raising slowly. 

Tyler poked his tongue out one side. “Jamie Randolph Benn, I like your thoughts.” 

“Ooof,” Jamie said and Tyler was about to ask if his middle name was off limits when he had a sudden Gerry on his side and a Cash lapping at his hand. The couch was wide, but not quite enough, so Marshall wrapped himself around their feet. “I think they’re wondering if we’re still fighting.” 

Tyler couldn’t help the chuckle. “No, kids, your Dad and Daddy are happy and content. No separate Christmases, promise.” 

“You are a complete loser, they are _your_ dogs,” Jamie huffed, like he hadn’t had full blown conversations with the pups. 

Tyler smacked a loud kiss to Jamie’s face. “Nope, you date me, you date my dogs.” 

“That’s called beastiality and is illiegal in every state in the nation,” Jamie mused. “And Canada.” 

“Well think of it as a single dad, I’m a package deal,” Tyler tried again. Cash lifted his head off of Jamie’s chest and then nuzzled back in. “Besides, you’ve been claimed.” 

Jamie rubbed at Cash’s head. “I don’t mind being claimed. I’ll take the package deal.” 

“Like you had a choice, fucker.” 

Jamie put his free hand towards Gerry and aimed for his ears, but he was far too wrapped up in Tyler to be held. “ _Language, Tyler_.” 

Tyler beamed, feeling warm and happy and just the best kind of sleepy. He rubbed at Cash who dug his head into Jamie’s chest and moved Gerry to be closer. Marshall looked up and huffed at him, which was his way of sending love. “See Jamie? You’ll be the best dad.” 

“Yeah, let’s take baby steps.” 

And now he was just goading him on. “Mmm, baby steps.” 

“Shut up, Tyler,” Jamie said, with absolutely no heat. He kissed Tyler on the forehead, and Tyler’s eyes started to close slowly. “By the way…” 

“Hmm?” Tyler asked distractedly. 

“No Youtube tricks with our actual kids, deal?” 

Tyler’s toes curled in a weird happy way. “I make no guarantees.”  
“  
You are NOT taping our kid to a Roomba.” 

“S’not a Roomba,” Tyler said, but he was dozing. 

Just as he fell asleep he heard. “It’s totally a Roomba, Ty.” 

He fell asleep before he could come up with a retort.


End file.
